Frank entered the day with three errors in 60 previous games this year.

For the record, Frank didn’t have another chance in the field until the Tar Heels had regained the lead.

He caught a line drive in the seventh inning and a fly ball in the eighth, normally plays considered routine for him. But patrons at Boshamer Stadium weren’t taking anything for granted as he settled under those balls.

CHAPEL HILL — About an hour after Tuesday afternoon’s game, North Carolina senior Chaz Frank sat in the Tar Heels dugout as a few reporters inquired about his mishap in center field.

And he was comfortable doing so.

Just imagine how awkward he felt earlier in that same dugout surrounded by teammates after his dropped fly ball gave South Carolina a one-run lead in the fifth inning of the NCAA super regional game.

“It was just bad timing,” Frank said. “It’s the worst feeling ever.”

Later, he had one of the best feelings because the Tar Heels defeated South Carolina 5-4 to return to the College World Series after a one-year hiatus from college baseball’s biggest stage.

Frank, a senior from Lexington, has been a staple in North Carolina’s lineup for two seasons. He’s so highly regarded that he was selected in the 20th round of the amateur draft by the Toronto Blue Jays.

For awhile, it looked like his next baseball game might be at some minor-league ballpark at the end of next week, far removed from television cameras and much glamour.

Frank entered the day with three errors in 60 previous games this year.

For the record, Frank didn’t have another chance in the field until the Tar Heels had regained the lead.

He caught a line drive in the seventh inning and a fly ball in the eighth, normally plays considered routine for him. But patrons at Boshamer Stadium weren’t taking anything for granted as he settled under those balls.

“We really wouldn’t have been here without Chaz, so it was important to pick him up,” third baseman Colin Moran said.